I hope Nintendo handles future Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + New Content releases in a more organised and organic way. It’s overly complicated to play through the different modes, with caveats everywhere, which means some modes don’t get the proper Switch 2 Edition treatment. Mario Party superfans will enjoy the new modes for the main board games, but the Jamboree TV additions—aside from the mouse games—are a bit average. Jamboree was a solid and complete package, and this just splits it all up and breaks the flow.

Necrobarista: Final Pour is a compelling story of death, grief, and the inevitable passing of our time on this Earth. With an endearing cast, snappy writing, and a careful balancing of humour along with the grim nature of its world, it makes for an enjoyable tale. It may not be the most involved of visual novel games, and the story falls just shy of hitting an emotional home run, but this is still worth a look if you’re after something a little more contemplative.

It will be entirely up to you whether the writing and redeeming elements of the battle system suit your preferences, but I am absolutely glad I was able to give Paper Mario: Color Splash a chance.

Beautifully animated, voiced and orchestrated, Wulverblade is an irresistible package for fans of side-scrolling fighters. A few minor issues merely smudge the face paint of this epic Britannica adventure.

Jackbox Party Pack 7 is another solid mix of games to through into rotation for your next social gathering. Quiplash 3 and Blather ‘Round are quick and simple options that anyone can pick up, and The Devil and the Details along with Talking Points are more complex games with plenty of replay value. Champ’d Up fails to live up to previous entertaining drawing games and has a pretty frustrating bug preventing full drawings from showing up properly. Overall, it’s a good collection of games that will please fans of the series, but I’m hoping that we soon get an option to export every pack into one collection for the ultimate party pack.

Floor Kids is one of those games you really have to play to fully understand the beauty of it. It takes a simple premise in an established genre and flips it on its head, focusing more on how the player moves than how they’re supposed to move. That’s a powerful feeling, to suddenly be in control in a genre that so typically gives the player little to no choice. With uniquely wonderful aesthetics, engaging gameplay, and a world that is truly fascinating to experience, Floor Kids achieves what so many other games aspire to — a new experience unmatched by anything else on the market.

As far as remasters of 18-year-old games go, it's hard to conjure up an example of a game that does it better than Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster. It was clearly an excellent game back in its day, and it remains so today, with crisp new assets, new voice acting, and a swathe of handy new features to smooth over the bumps of an aging experience. It can be repetitive and frustrating at times, and Sega's DLC offerings can leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth, but if you're looking for a classic RPG to play, a place to jump into the SMT series, or just a chance to relive your childhood, it's hard to go wrong here. It's not a game you'll want to miss out on.

This magical mashup of genres is certain to impress fans of both twin-stick shooters and old-school action-adventure games. With a sweet story and setting to boot, definitely keep Trigger Witch on your radar.

Fae Farm breaks the mould by introducing a variety of elements that work in the context of a farming RPG, while at the same time introduces many fantasy elements that just make this different enough to stand out from the crowd. There are some technical hiccups that can be ironed out in future patches, but even if you’re sick of farming on your Switch, I do recommend checking this one out.

Sam and Max Save the World closes out this absurd year in a scarily appropriate way. It’s writing remains as whip-smart and irreverent as it always was, as do the bulk of its politics and tone. Skunkape Games has drawn on its personal legacy with the game to lovingly remaster its presentation and provided a Switch port that feels snappy and clean as well as stylish.

RAILGRADE is a wonderful mix of railway management and puzzle-solving, with genuinely satisfying railway gameplay, mind-scratching puzzles to solve, and a bangin’ soundtrack. It does get frustrating at times, and it’s near-unplayable on the Switch Lite, but there's still absolutely plenty to like.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 on the Nintendo Switch is a game for people who grew up watching the series every morning on Cheez TV. If you know nothing about the series, it's still a decent starting point, but it leans heavily on nostalgia to make its story work. It's one of the best action-RPG games on the console right now, and doesn't suffer all that much from the Switch's mobile hardware. On the go or at home on the couch, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is the best way to relive the Dragon Ball series to date.

SnowRunner will appeal to fans of truck simulators and running cargo. It is a series that has found a niche as an all-terrain simulator and serves it well. Hauling cargo through the snow-covered wilderness requires patience and will cause frustration, but it's all part of the experience and makes a successful run all the sweeter. Unfortunately, some issues are keeping it from being great. Still, SnowRunner is a solid experience on the Switch, especially when the last year has kept many of us from being outside, tearing up the landscape in massive vehicles.

Mario Kart Live is as fun as any other Mario Kart game, while you'll have to spend the time and creative energy to lay down your course you'll soon forget about it and just start playing Mario Kart. The difference is there's a little RC Mario or Luigi roaming around the floor bringing the game to life even for those not playing it. Mario Kart Live is a super polished experience, and possibly the first time I've ever enjoyed anything AR. Instead of just having AR for AR sake, it's taken something already fun and merged it with real life.

What I most loved about Sparklite was how friendly it feels. While that’s partly due to the lighthearted adventure atmosphere, I think it’s the straightforwardness of the mechanics that really grab me. You’re not asked to navigate any complex systems or optimise your reaction times, you’re just getting in there and having some fun, without having to feel patronised or like things have been dumbed down. There’s definitely room in roguelikes for some chilled out fun, and while Sparklite isn’t perfect, that’s exactly what I had.

Mario Tennis Aces has brought Mario sports titles back up to where they belong. The single player isn't the second coming of the RPG modes from the Game Boy titles like we had hoped but that's not the full story here. Aces has a complex and fun Tennis system with mechanics more like a fighting game than a sport one. There's tons of content here and more than enough to keep you going for months. Smashing.

If you love Lego games or have younger people around that do, then this game is one of the more fun ones in a while. The overall Lego formula stays the same, for better or worse. But if you’re a DC fan they’ve once again gone all out on their characters, references and voice actors. Lego DC Villains brings together some of the well-known characters and the lesser-known, and chucks them into a decent story to make for a fun time.

Don’t let the bright design fool you, Bomber Crew is a full-on challenge, with minutiae galore, from the types of guns and engines you equip to the very gloves and boots that your crew wear (gotta have thermal protection for high altitude bombing). If you enjoy this genre of inevitable-failure games, then, by all means, strap in but I found the whole thing incredibly stressful, fiddly and just not much fun.

If you love animals and especially cats then I recommend Cattails. If you enjoy games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley but want a more relaxed pace then you should also get Cattails. It’s not going to be for everyone, but this is one endearing and adorable game about being a Cat making a life for itself in the great outdoors.

Yooka-Laylee has a ton of heart put into it. The team at Playtonic know how to make 90’s platformers and they’ve done it here. The problem is that not everything in those games was great then and they’re not great now. The game’s world is filled with a wonderful and funny cast, it’s just spread a bit thin in huge but empty worlds. The nostalgic soundtrack luckily fills those vast spaces. Yooka-Laylee is a terrific throwback to an era long dead. Let’s just have more of the good parts and keep the bad parts in the past.

Expect nothing inventive or complex with its puzzle design, but if the idea of a cute family in a uniquely gross and dark world sounds appealing you might just enjoy your time with this brief little adventure.

For all the frustrating moments, there is still an alright stealth game underneath. if you found sneaking around in the Metal Gear Solid games enjoyable there is some fun to be had here. Serial Cleaner has style and it helps carry the first half of the game, but the only real reason to keep playing after this is to unlock the bonus contracts at the end.

Super Punch Patrol is a simple game. Its visuals are simple, its gameplay is simple, its music is interesting but largely unassuming. But despite its simplicity, it manages to be something a little bit magical. Sure it's quite challenging, and sure it may kick your butt more than a few times — but it's a game where everything just feels right. It might not be for you, and it might not even be for me, but it'll always be fun as heck.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 - Turbocharged, like its predecessor is an enjoyable arcade-style racer. Developer Milestone continues to show they get how to incorporate Hot Wheels in new ways. If you spent a lot of time with the original Unleashed, then it hits hard to find the game takes some steps back, but if you want some new environments and tracks, then it might not matter.

WarioWare: Move It! brings another cavalcade of outlandish ideas to the table in a collection of mostly enjoyable microgames. The variety of poses and actions, the insanity of the visuals, the many ways to play, and the classic WarioWare charm make for another solid entry in the series. Some occasionally unresponsive motion controls and unclear directives, as well as the tedious Form Stone introductions, do bring some frustrations to the package, but there’s something about the ludicrousness of doing things like lassoing a wild animal while standing like a fashion model that just brings a smile to your face.

Islanders: Console Edition is not a game for those seeking an epic story, intense action, or even a puzzle game where a high score is all that matters. No, what it does is offer a nice and simple game, where if you only have a few minutes to play, or an hour, you can just enjoy the game for what it is. While the controls are not the most user friendly at times, they don’t stop you from enjoying the experience in the moment and given that there is no punishment for failing, there really isn’t any reason not to give it a go.

One of my favourite things worth mentioning about this game is the soundtrack. It’s entirely piano pieces, with varying tempos for various situations, like exploring the overworld, or fighting in a battle. If you have Spotify, the soundtrack is on there, I highly recommend giving it a listen!

While Australia still doesn’t have Hotline Miami on the Switch, Bloodroots helps to fill that fast-paced violent wound. When you work out how to chain your attacks around the many arenas it feels great, although it can be too unforgiving. Bloodroots revels in ‘everything is your weapon’ slapstick, managing to keep it interesting across the three acts. Paper Cult has delivered a stylish bloody revenge tale that will grab your attention and stab you with it.